Perfection

By JL Spelbring

The personification of Aryan purity, Ellyssa's spent her whole life under her creator's strict training and guidance; her purpose is to eradicate inferior beings. She was genetically engineered to be the perfect soldier: strong, intelligent, unemotional, and telepathic. Only Ellyssa isn't perfect. Ellyssa feels emotions--a fact she's spent her life concealing. Until she encounters the epitome of inferiority: a dark-haired boy raised among renegades hiding since the Nazis won the war a century ago. He speaks to her telepathically, pushing thoughts into her mind, despite the impossibility of such a substandard person having psychic abilities. But he does. His unspoken words and visions of a place she's never visited make Ellyssa question her creator. Confused and afraid her secret will be discovered, Ellyssa runs away, embarking on a journey where she discovers there is more to her than perfection.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
• Release date: Jul 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781937053352

Book preview

perseverance.

1

Ellyssa, a.k.a. Subject 62, sprinted through the dark alley with a black messenger bag slapping against her thigh. The sirens that had pierced the night an hour earlier had finally faded, but she still wasn’t safe.

Her mind raced as it flipped through the map she’d memorized. Turn right here, left there. She had to reach the train that would take her away from Chicago. There she might find safety…or her death.

She slipped behind a metal dumpster and backed up against the brick wall, blending into the shadows, breaths coming in gasps. Panic edged her nerves, and she released the reins.

For a few blissful moments, Ellyssa allowed herself to bathe in the physiological effects of panic. She felt her heart slam against her ribs and blood rush through her veins. But not for long. Panic brought less desirable traits—uncertainty and paranoia. She understood why her father would find the emotion useless, hindering the goals of a soldier and, therefore, had worked to eradicate it.

Regardless, it was an emotion, and she relished the feeling before she closed her eyes and slowed her breathing and heart rate, reining in the panic and tucking it away. Ellyssa opened her eyes, her face now a blank slate, completely unreadable.

She looked out from behind her cover and peered into the alley. Dark shadows wavered, but nothing solid moved. She reached with her mind, searching for any presence. Silence greeted her.

Pulling into the shadows, Ellyssa settled back against the wall and looked at the lightening sky. Soon morning would bring the shift change.

She unbuttoned the white lab coat, the uniform she’d been required to wear at The Center for Genetic Research and Eugenics, revealing a white blouse and tan skirt she’d stolen from the laundry. A couple of dark marks soiled the hem of the skirt, but the stains were small and unnoticeable. She shoved the hated lab coat into the dumpster, along with her old life. Kansas City was her new destination. She didn’t know why, but that was what the dark-haired prisoner had put into her head.

Pinks and purples crept across the night sky, extinguishing the stars. Afterward, the muffled steps of the workers reached her ears from the street. With her bag tucked under her arm, she pulled her shoulders back and strolled into the sea of blond-haired, blue-eyed people on N. Michigan Avenue.

Hitler’s vision of purity realized.

Everyone was dressed according to their jobs: the tan bottoms and white shirts of the business industry; the light blue coveralls of the city workers; the yellow smocks of the service industries; the dark blue and black authoritative colors of Schutzpolizei and the Gestapo, Swastika bands wrapped around their biceps.

The regular citizens all carried similar genetic makeups. Hair colors were variations of blond, shades of blue dominated the eyes, and both men and women had thin gymnast physiques. Even with all their similar attributes, not one ordinary citizen shared the ensemble of characteristics Ellyssa and her siblings possessed, including their intelligence…or their genetically-enhanced abilities.

The workers walked with their backs straight and heads held high as they maneuvered through the crowded streets, each to their assigned destinations. Much to Ellyssa’s dismay, several dark blue uniforms and black coats walked amongst the pedestrians or stood to the side watching as the shift change occurred. She had to keep a low profile.

A female dressed in business attire, with a sharp nose and thin lips, stopped and stared at Ellyssa. Although her boyishly-styled hair was platinum like Ellyssa’s and her siblings’, her beady eyes were not the pure azure color, but more teal.

Ellyssa slipped a smile on her face with ease. Although happiness is pointless and weakens you, her father would say, a smile deceives the ones beneath you and can be used to your advantage. Sorry, I dropped a paper and it blew into the alley, she said as a light breeze lifted her pale hair.

The woman raised an eyebrow, causing Ellyssa’s smooth calm to falter. The woman looked familiar, and Ellyssa didn’t like the way she was staring. She wondered if the female questioned her Germanic accent, even though it was slight. She knew most citizens spoke English, just as the Americans had before The War. Certainly, though, accents were not a thing of the past.

Glancing at the nearest male in a black coat, she dug into her front pocket and pulled out a yellowed sheet. Important notes. Nerves fluttered in her chest and a bead of perspiration formed on her forehead. Lingering anxiety. She pulled the reins on her feelings.

The businesswoman scrutinized her for a moment longer, then nodded and allowed Ellyssa in front of her with a customary pleasant smile.

Thank you, Ellyssa said politely, as all citizens spoke. She took the offered space and, when facing away from the stranger, quietly exhaled pent-up air before falling into cadence alongside the others.

As Ellyssa walked, she kept her expression void while awe worked wonders on her brain. Besides field-training exercises far away from civilization, she’d never been outside of The Center’s walls and, although approved learning books had provided illustrations, seeing the actual architecture was fascinating. Workers melted into the brown and red brick factories and warehouses built along the street.

A bit further, other workers departed to enter different types of service stores with huge glass fronts displaying generic store names like groceries or computers.

Ellyssa would’ve liked walking inside one of the stores to browse, but her newfound freedom wouldn’t allow for such trivial pursuits. If she didn’t make it to the train, she’d be eradicated as easily as the prohibited emotions she felt.

By the time she reached the bridge crossing the Chicago River, most of the crowd had dwindled down. Family homes nestled in neighborhoods popped up along the street. The windows were dark, and Ellyssa knew for the most part the houses lay empty, kids in school and parents performing assigned tasks.

She wondered what it’d be like to return home from work and watch a movie on a television set or listen to music or even to lounge on a couch; things she had encountered in her approved readings but never experienced within the confines of the sterile white walls of The Center. Of course, she had been bred to be superior to ordinary citizens, and her father held views of such inconsequential clutter restricting the mind.

When cattle are happily grazing, they never raise their heads to know their surroundings, her father had preached.

Now, being on the run, she doubted she would ever experience such things.

Ellyssa forced her eyes back toward the road. According to her calculations, Himmler was less than sixteen hundred meters away. At Himmler, she would turn right and walk another eight hundred meters to South Canal Street, where she would make a left toward Union Station. Once there, she’d show her forged papers and board the train to Kansas City, the place the dark-haired Renegade had told her to go a few days ago.

Ellyssa had just stepped out of a training room as the guards dragged the Renegade toward interrogation. Although the Renegade’s arms and legs were bound and tape held his mouth shut, he’d struggled against the muscular men. Mussed black hair had been clotted with dirt, and his cheek was green from an old bruise. As if the prisoner knew she was watching, his head craned over his shoulder and his chestnut brown eyes, wide and scared, locked on hers.

She’d started to open her mind to his thoughts, but she hadn’t needed to. The Renegade had forced himself in. Kansas City screamed into her mind. Ellyssa had reeled at the strength of his words. No one had ever done that. She snagged people’s words and feelings. Startled, she’d thrown up her psychic wall, like a stone barricade, to stop his voice before her siblings and father saw the stress on her face.

The door to interrogation had closed, and she had never seen him again. But later that evening when she had been sitting in her room, his voice had called again.

Don’t forget. Kansas City, he had said inside her head.

Covering her ears, she’d tried to block his intrusion. His frantic words were too much for her barrier, repeating over and over again, beating against her skull. On the verge of losing control of the façade she’d carefully constructed since she’d been a child, the incursion stopped, like a switch had been flipped.

Carefully concealed fear had kept the encounter secret, but curiosity had made her obsessed with him and his special ability. It’d beckoned her, like a flower to a bee.

On her quest to find answers, she’d stumbled across information her eyes were not meant to see—a plan that would lead to her and her siblings’ demise. Twenty-four hours after her discovery, she was walking down N. Michigan Ave.

Lost in thought, her barricade weak, Ellyssa didn’t detect the mumbled words as they entered her head at first. They floated in under the daydream of the unknown male. Blinking, she snapped from her self-induced hypnosis.

The female with the thin lips still walked behind her. Ellyssa could feel the mind she struggled to keep quiet. There was a leak, though. Hatred and jealousy floated in the undercurrents. Ellyssa waited for the floodgates to open.

Should I stop her now? No, I’ll wait to see if she turns toward the station, the female thought.

The female was a Kripolizei, one of the undercover detectives from her father’s center. Panic shot up Ellyssa’s spine and her gait faltered. She couldn’t afford to alert the detective. Forcing herself to relax, she resumed what she hoped was a casual pace.

Her father must have discovered the lies she concocted. Using her fingerprints and eye scan, Ellyssa had created a false identity and bank account to buy a train ticket. She had then programmed the computer to completely erase her old identity from the mainframe when she swiped the new card. Ellyssa had become nonexistent, and Vada Owen, the secretary, had been born.

Before she reached Himmler, Ellyssa made a hard left at the legal crosswalk, crossed N. Michigan Ave., turned right, and walked along the sidewalk of Hitler Park. The park would be empty. Caregivers wouldn’t bring young children for morning play until nine. Hoping the detour would throw the detective off her original plans, she entered the park via an obscured path. The trees closed around them.

Confusion emanated from the detective as she followed. Excuse me, but the park is closed, she said in impeccable German. She placed her hand on Ellyssa’s shoulder. I believe you should come with me. Your name’s Ellyssa, is it not?

At the detective’s touch, Ellyssa bristled. Reining in the response to break the detective’s hand, she stopped and faced her.

My name is Detective Petersen. Dr. Hirch is worried about you. She smiled a smile that didn’t come close to reaching her eyes and flashed a badge. I think it’s best if I escort you back home.

Please, I would like to finish my walk first, Ellyssa responded in English.

The detective frowned. I’m sorry, but you’ll need to come with me. Now. She grasped Ellyssa by the upper arm.

Anger surged forth, wiping away any trepidation, but Ellyssa expressed nothing. She would not be returning to The Center.

She transferred her bag to the left hand and proceeded with the detective, but before they reached the edge of the pathway, she twisted, lifting her hand. Detective Petersen failed to respond as the messenger bag connected with her face. Grunting in pain, the detective covered her nose with her hands as she stumbled over an exposed root and fell.

Ellyssa watched as the side of the detective’s head smacked into the thick trunk of an elm. The Kripo dropped to her side and rolled over, groaning. Then she went quiet.

Kneeling, Ellyssa pressed her fingers against the detective’s carotid artery. The pulse was a little erratic, but strong. She moved the detective’s head to the side and assessed the injury. Blood oozed from a small gash.

Ellyssa stood and stepped over the detective, moving away from the path. Hidden within the trees, she set her bag down and removed blue coveralls and blunt-end scissors. She pulled the coveralls over her clothes and proceeded to snip off her long mane above the elastic band. Her hair fell loose. Running her fingers through the soft locks, she arranged it the best she could without the aid of a mirror. She picked up her bag and backtracked to the path. The detective was still out cold. Ellyssa dragged her behind a bush.

With caution, she left the park and proceeded to Himmler. The street lay empty before her. She kept her mind open, though, just in case. Nothing invoked suspicion as she neared Union Station. The hum of people’s thoughts loudly rang in her head. Ellyssa slid her mental wall into place, cutting off the continuous stream. She’d have to rely on her instincts.

Ellyssa faltered on the steps of the train station. The pictures she’d seen didn’t compare to the actual beauty. So much she had missed in her prison-style home.

Union Station had been completed in May 1925, way before The War. The Beaux-Arts style of architecture shouted the neoclassical movement of the era. The exterior had been constructed from Indian limestone and featured Tuscan columns and arches.

Wishing she had time to appreciate the fine details on her first visit to the city, she remained stone-face and continued moving before she attracted unwanted attention. She walked past the grand columns and entered the building.

The interior was even more beautiful than the outside. Ellyssa descended the steps into the Grand Hall. Pink Tennessee marble lined the floors, Corinthian columns reached the ceiling, and pilasters decorated the terracotta walls. Lifting her chin, she gazed at the vaulted skylight that rose over thirty meters above her head.

It’s beautiful, isn’t it? said a male wearing a yellow smock. His dirty-blond bangs were gelled, exposing a broad forehead.

She stepped back. Her hand tensed around the strap of her bag as she quickly swept his mind before the barrage of images from the station patrons attacked her. The stranger was harmless.

He smiled. Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. Can I help you?

Ellyssa returned his gesture of friendliness. Yes, this is my first day, she lied. Can you point me in the direction of the janitorial closet?

The male turned and pointed toward a set of signs. If you turn right there and head down the stairs, directly to your left there will be a sign that says, ‘Employees Only’.

Thank you. She began to walk away.

Wait.

Ellyssa’s shoulders clenched. Anger bubbled at her response. She had spent her life training, keeping emotions in check, her physical response unreadable, and now she was going to let some ordinary citizen get the best of her? She forced herself to relax while plastering another smile across her lips and facing him. Yes.

Did you check in with the shift supervisor?

No, not yet.

I can walk with you and show you the office.

The tension reached her jaw-line. That would be fine, she managed without clenching her teeth, but do you think I can visit the facilities first, please?

They are on the way. He extended a hand to the opposite set of stairs. First day jitters? he asked as she passed him.

A tentative grin pulled the corners of her mouth. It shows?

Not too bad. You’ll do fine. He turned and walked next to her. Where were you assigned?

Ellyssa wished he would just shut up, or that an opportunity would arise where she could make him. She knew he wouldn’t be any match for her. Her expertise in the martial arts along with her extensive weapons training put regular citizens at a great disadvantage against her. She shrugged and offered him another smile. He seemed pleased.

I understand. Don’t want to talk about it. Well, I promise you will love working here. The people you meet passing through are very interesting.

I’m not sure if my present position will offer such pleasantries.

He glanced at her coveralls and didn’t say anything else. They continued the rest of the way in silence.

When they reached the restroom, he said, I have to get back to work. Follow this hall to the end and the office is on the right. You can’t miss it. He stood there.

Oh, yes. Thank you. It was very nice to meet you.

He beamed. It was nice to meet you, too. He held out his hand. My name is Peter.

She grasped his hand with false enthusiasm.

Maybe we will run into each other soon?

Maybe. She turned and escaped through the door marked, FEMALES.

Disinfectant hovered in the air of the immaculate restroom. Shining white tile gleamed under the fluorescent lights. Eggshell sinks hung on the right, and beige stalls stood to the left.

Ellyssa moved to the last stall and locked the door behind her. She placed her shoulder bag on the floor and shrugged out of the coveralls. She withdrew a plastic bag with hair accessories and makeup.

The door opened with the soft whisper of the hydraulics. She froze. Shoes clicked on the tile as the person went into the first stall. Picking her bag off the floor, Ellyssa sat on the porcelain seat and waited. After a few minutes, the toilet flushed, and the stranger exited after washing her hands.

She peeked out the door to make sure the bathroom was empty, then went to the mirror to straighten her crumpled white blouse the best she could. Wrinkles still gathered at the bottom, but the collar looked fine.

She twisted her bangs into small braids and pinned them back with two grey barrettes, then applied a soft, rose-colored lipstick and added some length to her eyelashes.

Satisfied with her appearance, she threw everything back into her bag and went to the door. She paused and listened with her ears. Mumblings from hundreds of people whispered. She swung open the bathroom door and made her way to the ticket counter.

A man with black-peppered hair stood behind the glass barrier. Like all workers within the travel industry, he wore a crisp white short-sleeved shirt with a blue cap.

She glanced around. Nobody stood directly next to her, but several patrons sat on benches or milled around nearby. Too many actually, but she chanced it anyway. She lowered her shield just enough to take a quick peek inside the director’s head and saw the notes of some old tune. From what she could tell, he hadn’t been alerted. If she was lucky, maybe none of the normal citizens had been warned. Her father, Dr. Hirch, must have been confident that she would be captured.

Shoulders back, she walked to the counter and handed him the forged papers. He glanced at the credentials, took her false credits, and handed her a ticket with a polite smile.

Thank you, she said.

He nodded.

She sat on a wooden bench in the Great Hall with all the other passengers, most wearing the same clothes as she, and waited for the eight o’clock train. It was seven-forty, now. Except for the run-in with the detective, the morning had gone relatively smoothly. Everyone would board in another ten minutes, and she’d be on her way.

Unfortunately, her ability didn’t include precognition.

2

Men wearing black trench coats and Swastika bands zigzagged among the benches. Some checked people’s papers, while two Gestapo approached the ticket agent and showed him a photo. Fear burst inside Ellyssa’s chest. Her instincts screamed run, her head said sit. She kept calm and twisted her face into a look of anticipation and curiosity, just like everyone else was doing, as she watched the secret police.

The man behind the counter looked at the picture, then scanned the waiting room. His gaze passed over her more than once before his eyes locked on her. He pointed in her direction. The two men separated and walked on both sides of the benches toward her.

Heart thrumming, muscles bunched to run, it took all of her self-discipline not to burst off the bench like a scared rabbit from the brush. Ellyssa touched her bag in preparation to either escape or to show the faux papers, but the Gestapo passed her section and walked six rows behind her. Relief swept through her as she turned in her seat.

The two Gestapo approached a female in a white lab coat who wore her pale yellow hair in a long finger wave like Ellyssa had before she’d cut it in the park. The wrongly identified female’s eyes widened in shock as the men stood on each side of her. They spoke to her in German, their voices authoritative and harsh. She shook her head, clearly unable to understand them. The shorter one on the left reverted to English. She reached into her attaché case and withdrew blue papers.

The taller of the two snatched the papers out of her hand and shook them in her face. She flinched while her lips moved rapidly. Her voice was high, stressed with frantic tones. As she talked, the shorter one placed his hand under her arm. Given little choice, the woman stood and went with the police as they escorted her down the row. The other secret police met them in the center aisle, and they left with the innocent female.

Ellyssa faced forward and melted into the wooden bench. She couldn’t believe the trained eyes of the Gestapo couldn’t tell the difference in hair color, much less the color of the poor female’s eyes.

A deep, throaty voice emitted from the PA system. All aboard for St. Louis connecting to Kansas City. Please have your papers and tickets ready.

Ellyssa jumped up with her bag draped over her shoulder and went to the platform where the conductor stood. She handed him her papers.

Smiling, he punched a hole in the ticket and handed both documents back. Enjoy your trip.

Relieved the conductor spoke with a pronounced German inflection, Ellyssa answered, Thank you. I will. She glanced over her shoulder, halfway expecting the Gestapo to come storming back in, their mistake discovered.

You look a little nervous.

She felt like kicking herself. Since childhood, she’d perfected a mask to display, emotionless and deadpan. But with all the sensations roiling inside her at once—anxiety, fear, excitement—she was wearing them on her sleeve. Of course, she’d never thought she’d be using her skills to flee. She pulled at the hem of her blouse and concentrated on smoothing her demeanor.

Don’t be, the conductor continued. Trains are a wonderful way to travel. He reached behind her to take papers from another passenger.

Thank you. She stepped onto the platform.

The few people who had boarded before her milled down the narrow hall, searching for their compartments. Ellyssa quickly moved to her designated slot before more boarding passengers could crowd the cramped walkway and went inside.

Compared to her sterile room at The Center, the compartment seemed almost homey. The mahogany paneled room held two berths, dressed in ivory satin comforters that matched the lace curtain covering the small window. A thin, silver table, decorated with a menu holder and a small vase of yellow daisies, sat directly under it. Mounted on the wall to the left, a flat-screen television and a radio with two sets of headphones offered entertainment she had never been allowed before.

Ellyssa pulled back the curtain and peered outside, wondering if anyone had found the hidden file. All seemed normal, people wearing business attire and none wearing armbands of red signifying authority. Apparently, the Gestapo hadn’t discovered their mistake, yet. For the first time since she’d fled, her mind felt at ease.

Loud thrumming vibrated under Ellyssa’s feet, and the train started to rock gently from side to side as it slowly pulled away from the station. Ellyssa left her compartment and walked five cars down. Using her gift, she peeked into each space until she found one that was empty. She glanced down the aisle before slipping inside the vacant room.

Settling onto the berth, Ellyssa drifted into a restless sleep.

3

Dr. George Hirch watched over Leland’s shoulder as his assistant scrolled through pictures. The Center’s data files had thousands of employees across the world. None shared the identical hair and eye color of his soldiers. They were the purebloods of scientific research.

Is it possible that she deleted all references to herself? the doctor asked, trying to maintain his dwindling patience. He ran his fingers through his thick, silver hair.

Leland dropped his hand away from the mouse and turned to stare at George. I’ve already explained to you that yes, it is possible, he said irritably. I’m trying to locate anything she might’ve forgotten. I realize you’re anxious, but breathing down my neck is not helping.

George’s brow furrowed as he looked at Leland with contempt. Leland, a child of The Center, but a genetic foul-up with wavy golden hair and pale powder-blue eyes, had the nerve to talk to him with disdain. If not for Leland’s somewhat above average intelligence, he would’ve been socialized into the general population, taking some insignificant job.

Leland was not like George, who had been one of the first purebreds, seventy years ago. Platinum hair, eyes the color of the sky on a clear day, pale flawless skin, handsome, the doctor had been the poster child of Hitler’s vision.

At the age of five, George had had the fortunate opportunity of meeting the aging visionary when the Führer had visited The Center. Hitler had explained to George and the other subjects the meaning of his visions. It had been the most exhilarating moment of the young doctor’s life, only surpassed when he’d discovered and learned to manipulate the genetic coding of perception. From there, his soldiers were born.

His mind wandered back to the inferior Leland, and anger burned through him. Just find her, he snarled.

Leland shrugged and spun around in the computer chair. His fingers clicked across the keys. This process of scanning pictures one at a time is going to take awhile. You might as well sit down. The younger man leaned his head toward the computer as people’s faces flipped across the monitor.

Frustrated, George glanced at the screen. The familiar face of a female who worked on the second floor flashed, quickly replaced with some other woman who worked in the London facility.

Throwing his hands in the air, he returned to his executive-style desk and began analyzing Ellyssa’s psychological profile, yet again, to compare her to her siblings. Her personality tests had all returned without any wavers within the boundaries. Her physical and emotional tests exceeded the scope of established parameters. She even surpassed her siblings in martial arts and weapons training.

Where did things go wrong?

What have you found?

Concentrating on Ellyssa’s tests and profiles, the doctor started at the unexpected voice. Detective Angela Petersen, head of The Center’s Kripo unit, stood at the front of his desk, peering at him with questioning eyes. A twig stuck out of her disheveled hair, and dried blood was smeared along her cheek. As if nothing was wrong, she smoothed her rumpled skirt and shirt before sitting in the guest chair directly across from him.

Angela was living proof that, after the initial tweaking of man, nature would’ve eventually weeded out undesirable traits. Besides being beautiful, with angular cheeks, bright eyes—although a little too small and the wrong color—and unlined skin, the detective was highly intelligent, physically toned, mentally stable, and proud of her abilities. Close to having the required qualities without modification but, unfortunately, still lacking.

Ah, Detective. Your German is improving, George responded in his visionary’s native tongue. What happened to you?

Your precious daughter is what happened, she snapped.

He straightened in his chair, his lids widened minutely. She attacked you?

Yes. It seems she is not as docile to authority as you thought.

After grabbing antiseptic from the top drawer, he walked around the desk and examined the gash on the detective’s head. It was a small laceration, but deep. He soaked a cotton ball with the yellowish liquid. This may sting a little, he said as he blotted the wound. Tell me what happened.

As we thought, she was heading toward the station, but at the last minute she crossed the street and went into Hitler Park.

The park?

Yes, she said she was going on a walk.

The doctor chuckled while he dabbed the ointment on Angela’s head.

What?

She knew who you were.

I was careful to keep my mind clear.

"An impossible task. But to be on the fair side, Ellyssa’s powers are astoundingly developed, even

Reviews for Perfection

[brandileigh2003 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Perfection is a chilling picture of what life could be if selective genetics goes completely wrong. They are trying to make a perfect soldier, and as far as looks and strength and mind reading goes, they have it in Ellyssa. But they consider her emotions her weakness. She learns through her escape that those emotions can really be strength. This is an alternate history I guess you would consider, because it is basically a dystopia where Hitler's ideals are realized and they are working to eradicate those who aren't of perfect race, and taking it even further with superior intelligence and strength. She tries to run away from the place she was made/born because a strange for this world looking boy with dark hair being questioned broke through her mental shield and screamed a place at her. And she deletes and changes things in the database and goes on the run. It's so much fun to watch her learn to trust others, feel loss, sorrow, joy, laughter, and most of all, fall in love. While I understood the choice for a third person pov, I connected most with Ellyssa and wanted to be from her point of view the most. I didn't connect with the other characters, but they gave valuable insight into what is going on while Ellyssa is running and when she finds unlikely allies. There is plenty of action behind the character development to keep the story going. The ending is pretty good, but the epilogue makes me know there needs to be another book in this series. There are also ingeniously crafted villains that will make you want to wring out their brains.Bottom Line: Action packed and chilling alternate history with a main character I grew to love.

[alwaysyaatheart · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This dystopian novel takes place in the United States approximately a century after the Nazi's won the war. Ellyssa and her genetically engineered brothers and sister are Hitlers idea of perfection. Her father and her creator, Dr. George Hirch, Der Vater, has devoted his life's work to creating the perfect soldier formed in the image Hitler believed to superior - platinum hair, blue eyes, porcelain skin, having superior strength, intelligence, as well as "special abilities." She has lived inside the Center all her life and has done what her father has asked of her, masking her emotions, no questions asked. All of that changes when a dark haired imperfect stranger speaks into her mind and she discovers things about her father, his plans for her, and his plans for society that disturb her so much that she escapes. On the run from everything she knows, everyone and everything she has believed to be true, Ellyssa faces the most difficult tests of her life. She not only meets a groups of people, renegades as they were known, who she was always taught were a menace to society, impure, and barbaric, but she comes to know, love, and must learn to trust them, but will they trust her? Will the danger be too great? Will the Center and everything it stands for destroy any hope Ellyssa may have at freedom? I enjoyed Perfection. It was a bit slow in the beginning and it took me a while to really get into it, but when I did, I was fully engrossed in what was going on. The novel is told in the third person, but you also get multiple POVs from the other characters in the story, which I found interesting. Ellyssa is the main character. I didn't connect with her immediately. She was robotic like and determined, masking her emotions, in her speech and actions. As Ellyssa began to come out of her shell, open herself up to people, learn to trust, and even to fall in love, I grew to really like her and enjoyed watching her character develop. Rein, the romantic interest in the story, I just loved, and I enjoyed watching their relationship develop. The other secondary characters all played important roles in the story as well. I especially like Matthew, Jordan, and Woody. They help her to see what truth really is in relation to what she has always been taught. Ellyssa's father, her brothers and sister, however, I did not like at all. They were really evil, as was the detective that pursued Ellyssa. As the danger and threats the Center and what it stands for begin to close in on Ellyssa and those she is with, she sets forth on a course of action, determined to save the ones she loves, and is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish it. Perfection has plenty of action, danger, conspiracy, evil villains, and romance, and takes place in postwar setting in which the Nazi's were the ones who won the war, instead of the way we know it. The ending was satisfying and I was pleased. It was also a little disturbing, especially the epilogue (in a good way), setting the stage for a sequel, which I will definitely check out. If you are a dystopian fan, Perfection is different from many of the dystopias out there, and is something you might want to check out.